Crittenden county hunkers down, weathers bitter cold

Single-digit temperatures, ice and snow hit area with triple threat

By JOHN RECH

news@theeveningtimes.com

The weather impact on emergency services could have been worse than it was according to Crittenden County Emergency Manager Bud Spears. Travel was tough in the record deep snow. The emergency manger prepared to open warming shelters but did not have the call to do so. One family ran out of household propane and _rewood and received an assist from the sheriff department.

“Our biggest problem during the storm was travel,’ said Spears. “Road were bad. Visibility was low during the snow. The _rst two days were a lot of accidents, people sliding into ditches, but we really got lucky. Im not aware of any major accidents. We weren’t impacted by the weather as hard as other areas in the state.”

Residents stayed home and warm.

“We did not have any calls for people needing a warming shelter,” said Spears. ‘We were prepared to open one if needed but never did get any calls on it.”

The county has a contract with the Red Cross to provide emergency shelters locally. Shelters have been opened at churches in the area in the past for hurricane refugees, but the snow storm did not drive a similar response.

The cold weather impacted one rural family at home.

“The Sheriff Department helped an elderly couple,” said Spears. “She was homebound on oxygen. They had run our of gas and _rewood. They delivered propane. We helped others with frozen waterlines shut off water.”

The aged county courthouse broke down because of the cold weather. Water pipes burst in the basement. The problems led to a second postponement of the Quorum Court meeting by County Judge Woody Wheeless.

“Quorum Court has been postponed until Thursday at 9 a.m.,” said Wheeless. “We have a busted water main in the courthouse. Water was around six inches in the basement.”

Dorothy Wilson posted this photo on her Facebook page last week, taken outside her home along Highway 77 in Marion. “Entergy got stuck on our street this morning. Please, Entergy, keep trying! The rest of you? Stay home!” she said.

Photo by Dorothy Wilson

“Our biggest problem during the storm was travel. Road were bad. Visibility was low during the snow. The first two days were a lot of accidents, people sliding into ditches, but we really got lucky. Im not aware of any major accidents. We weren’t impacted by the weather as hard as other areas in the state.”

BUD SPEARS

Crittenden county emergency manager